Accusations of “skinny-bashing” have been levelled at a prominent Ivy League university after a 20-year-old student revealed she was “forced to eat cheetos” to add weight to her naturally slim frame.
Frances Chan, who’s studying Arts at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, says she spent months trying to convince uni authorities that her slight 157cm, 42kg frame was down to genetics and not an eating disorder.
The New Jersey native wrote on the Huffington Post that she had been subjected to weekly weigh-ins and urine tests, three blood tests, a test on her heart and appointments with a mental health counsellor and a nutritionist since late 2013.
She says the fiasco began after visiting the university’s cancer hospital in September, 2013, about a breast lump that turned out to be benign.
She was called back after her appointment to discuss “a concern” resulting from the visit — and that “concern” turned out to be her weight.
Chan says the university clinician threatened to put her on medical leave if I did not comply, remarking: “If it were up to the administration, school would already be out for you. I’m just trying to help.”
She described the invasive experience on the Huffington Post like this:
Every week, I try to convince my clinician that I am healthy but skinny. Over the past several months, however, I’ve realized the futility of arguing with her.
“You should try to gain at least two more pounds.” (What difference does two pounds make?)
“Come next week to take a blood test to check your electrolytes.” (No consideration that I had three exams that week.)
“I know you’ve said in the past that you don’t eat as much when you get stressed out.” (I’ve never said that.)
So instead of arguing, I decided that perhaps the more I complied, the sooner I could resume my normal life.
… Finally, I decided to start a weight-gain diet. If I only had to gain two pounds, it was worth a shot to stop the trouble. I asked my health-conscious friends what they do to remain slim and did the exact opposite. In addition to loading up on carbs for each meal, I’ve eaten 3-4 scoops of ice cream twice a day with chocolate, cookies, or Cheetos at bedtime. I take elevators instead of stairs wherever possible.
Chan eventually gained two pounds — under a kilogram — but “cracked” when she was told that wasn’t enough.
“I was left sobbing in my dean’s office, in my suitemate’s arms afterwards, and Saturday morning on the phone with my parents,” she said.
“At this rate, I was well on my way to developing an eating disorder before anyone could diagnose the currently nonexistent one.”
Chan’s solution? Ultimately, she decided to switch doctors, write about her experience to the Yale President and ditch the insulting regimen altogether.
As she writes:
I was scheduled to have a mental health appointment at 9am and a weigh-in at 10.30am this past Friday. But I’m done. No more weigh-ins, no more blood draws. I don’t have an eating disorder, and I will not let Yale Health cause me to develop one. If Yale wants to kick me out, let them try — in the meantime, I’ll be studying for midterms, doing my best to make up for lost time.
At least the university’s backed off since, it seems.
Chan has said on Facebook that she and her parents are now working with new doctor at Yale, who has apologised and admitted that university made a mistake by focusing too much on the student’s weight.
Chan has agreed to continue being monitored by the university’s health service but only has to check in once per semester.
If this post brings up any issues for you, you can contact The Butterfly Foundation for eating disorders via their website or on their National Support Line (1800 33 4673).
Top Comments
Madness ! I love going to a new doctor if mine isn't available or when we have moved states ! I get a tsk tsk and a barrage of tests as I am overweight - I agree and smile stupidly and nod and let them go about their way ! This happens when I am going for a re- prescription for my pill or a sunspot or something generic and not related. Every time for the past 15 years everything comes back negative - nothing working with me, I don't get sick, I get a cold once very couple of years that lasts for a few days and hay fever that's it . Oh but being overweight is the cause of everything they will have you beleive. Yes it is not the best position to be in I am sure as I am not uneducated and do realise the health implications of being overweight . But we are not unhealthy, unattractive, slobs that don't exercise and eat takeaway food ! I have a wonderful friend that is very very slim and she eats like a crazy lady - I had no sympathy for thin people moaning about gaining weight until I met her - she faces the same looks and whispers as her overweight counterparts ! Same thing regardless of where you sit on the scale . It's all about ones own perception x
Your weight does impact on the efficacy of the pill, so that would account for some of the checkups with re-prescription. And most doctors would also be wanting to monitor blood pressure due to risk of clotting - regardless of weight. These aren't unrelated tests and there are a wide range of health conditions which are impacted (eg risk increased) by being overweight. Your GP is probably just doing their job well!
Poor woman! I have had similar experiences in the past. Throughout school, I was very thin, a combination of my genetic makeup and a very fast metabolism that allowed me to eat anything and everything and still struggle to keep weight on. I used to be teased mercilessly about my body shape. I would often get called 'Ana' (short for 'anorexia') and had several classmates who were always giving me Chinese burns and trying to see if they could 'break my wrists' because they were so thin. I became so terrified and self-conscious that I begged my mum to buy me a size 14 jumper that fitted me more like an oversized dress and I would wear that around all day – even in the height of summer – to hide my body from the girls who would tease me.
A teacher once saw me throw away the crusts from a sandwich and called me into her office for a 'chat' where she came straight out and accused me of being anorexic.
And in my early 20s, I was living in London and ended up in hospital after a minor car accident. The staff kept me there for observation and kept sending new doctors and other specialists in to speak with me. Finally, after several hours, a psychologist came in and told me that the doctors had concerns that my weight was very low and again, this woman came straight out and asked me if I had an eating disorder.
The crazy thing was that I've always eaten far more than anyone I know (I even eat larger portions of food than my partner, who's 6'4" and twice my weight) and have always had a very healthy relationship with food (aside from being a sugar junkie for most of my life). I've never dieted – not even for a day – and have never, ever felt guilty about a single thing I've eaten. My biggest struggle has always been to keep weight on because if I ever get sick – with a cold, for example – and lose my appetite, my weight just plummets.
Before I had my two children, I upped my calorie intake dramatically in order to gain a couple of kilos to put me in the 'healthy' BMI range, but I still found that I ended each pregnancy two kilos lighter than my starting weight. My kids were 3.8kg and 3.6kg at birth, however, so were clearly well-nourished.
I certainly think that society's kinder to thin people than to overweight people, but it can still be difficult when you're naturally thin and people can't see how it's possible that you don't have an eating disorder.